Freight car construction



y 6, 1968 c. R. JOHNSTON FREIGHT CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1964 w lNVENTOR.

Ail/Q55 Emma 0614 4570 I 3,392,500 FREIGHT CAR CONSTRUCTION Charles Richard Johnston, 80 E. Jackson Blvd.,

' Chicago, Ill. 60604 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 130,890, Aug. 11, 1961. This application Nov." 23, 1964, Ser.

1 Claim. (Cl. 52-629) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 130,890, filed Aug. 11, 1961, entitled, Freight Car Construction, now Patent No. 3,185,112 issued May 25, 1965.

The invention described and claimed in this application relates to a new and improved freight car construction and more particularly to a method of prefabricating a freight hauling vehicle such as a railroad freight car.

A principal object of my invention is to provide in a freight car construction of this character a means for interconnecting prefabricated walls and floor sections together so that they form a metallic nailable self-supporting structure which is of minimum weight and cost, yet consistent with the sturdiness required of freight hauling vehicles.

Another object of my invention is in the provision in a freight car construction of this character of wall panels which are sectional prefabricated self-supporting units, eliminating the requirement of spaced vertically disposed, structural supporting posts or the like.

A further object of my invention is in the provision in a freight car construction of this character whereby the United States Patent walls and floor of the car comprise metallic nailable selfsupporting units which by their unique configuration and adaptation are capable of withstanding varying degrees of stress and strain imposed thereon by the freight stored and transported therein.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings showing the preferred form of construction, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective interior view of a freight car constructed in accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one prefabricated nailable wall section of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified structure and the means for inter-connecting each of the prefabricated wall sections together;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified structure and the means for inter-engaging each of the prefabricated wall sections together;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified structure and the means for inter-connecting each of the prefabricated wall sections together.

This invention describes a new form of freight oar construction in which the normally required structural framework comprising spaced apart vertically disposed wall supporting posts is eliminated.

The freight car walls and floor are made up of prefabricated metallic nailable sections, or units, each provided with a novel structural means for connecting the same together so that each section, or unit, when arranged to form a freight car wall or floor, will present a flush coplanar inner wall or floor surface.

FIG. 1 discloses an interior view of a freight car constructed in accordance with this invention. This freight car 10 comprises oppositely disposed walls 11 and 12 made up of a plurality of prefabricated wall forming sections. A nailable flooring 13 is shown having nail receiving 3,392,500 Patented July 16, 1968 grooves 14 in complementary relation with nail receiving grooves 15 formed throughout the walls 11 and 12. This nailable flooring 13 may be of the construction, configuration and arrangement as shown and described in my copending application, Ser. No. 130,890, filed Aug. 11, 1961, and my Patent 3,102,613, dated Sept. 3, 1963.

The side walls 11 and 12 each comprise a plurality of prefabricated self-supporting wall sections formed from continuous sheets of metallic material, as shown in FIG. 2. These wall sections 16 each comprise an intermediate core sheet 17 which is formed to present throughout its longitudinal length a series of strengthening r-ibs, which could be in the form of nail receiving grooves 18.

These nail receiving grooves 18 are formed by having the sheet '17 constructed so as to provide a substantially triangularly shaped impression having a base 19 which extends in a parallel direction to the surface of the sheet 17. The opposite legs 20 of such triangularly shaped impression intermediate the base 19 and the surface of the sheet 17 are crimped as at 21 so as to provide complementary corrugations extending in the direction of the length of rib or groove 18. The corrugations, or crimped legs 20 converge to form a restricted throat 22 for retaining the nail or the like inserted into the nail receiving groove 18. A suitable filler material 23 may be placed within the nail receiving groove 18, as shown.

To complete the wall structure as shown in FIG. 2, I provide an exterior wall member 27. This wall member 27 is adapted to lie in facial abutment with the bases 19 of each of the nail receiving grooves 18 of the inner wall member 16. One edge 28 of the exterior wall member 27 is crimped as at 29 out of the normal longitudinal plane thereof so as to provide a seat which receives the straight edge 30 of the next complementary exterior wall member 27. The connecting edges 28 and 30 of the juxtaposed exterior wall members 27 may then be welded together as \at 31. A similar construction is shown in FIG. 3 wherein the interior wall panels 32 are formed so as to provide a substantially triangularly shaped channel having a base 33 and converging side Walls 34 and 35. The apex of the triangularly shaped channel is open as at 36 so as to provide a passage for a nail or the like. The triangularly shaped channel may be then filled with a suitable strengthening nailable compound 37. Each of the interior wall panels 32 will have one corresponding edge crimped inwardly as at 38 to provide a seat 39 which is adapted to receive the corresponding complementary edge 40 of the next justaposed'interior wall panel 32. By a seam weld 41, these edges may be permanently connected together.

As shown in FIG. 3, the exterior wall panel 42 is corrugated and has certain of the corrugations connected to the base portion 33 of each of the triangularly shaped channels provided by the interior wall panel 32. The corrugation in itself is very rigid and self-supporting and when connected to the interior wall as hereinbefore described, increases in structural strength so that it may withstand great stress and strain forces.

Referring to FIG. 4, I show a wall construction wherein the exterior wall member 43 is provided throughout its longitudinal length with a series of spaced apart vertically extending open channels 44. Adapted to be placed in each of the channels 44 is a nail receiving and retaining structural member 45. This structural member 45 comprises a base 46 which is adapted to be of a size so as to frictionally fit against the base portion 47 of the open channel 44 as clearly seen in FIG. 4. The base 46 of the structural member 45 then provides converging side walls 48 and 49 which terminate into spaced apart substantially parallelly extending wall portions 50 and 51 which in turn terminate into oppositely extending end flanges 52 and 53 respectively. The vertical edges of the flanges 52 and 53 are then connected by welding, as at 54, to corresponding corners 55 provided by the channels 43 By this arrangement, I have provided a wall panel which has integrally formed, vertically extending channels which form supporting ridges for the wall panel and which also receive and correctly position a nail receiving and retaining structural element which extends inwardly of the wall member.

Referring to FIG. 5, I show an inner wall panel 56 which has formed throughout its longitudinal length a plurality of nail receiving and retaining grooves 57 of the structure and configuration shown and described in FIG. 2. Each of the inner wall panels 56 has one vertical edge thereof formed to provide a T slot 58 which is adapted to slidably receive a corresponding T-shaped flange edge 59 of the complementary edge of a juxtaposed interior wall panel 56. The exterior wall member 60 is formed to provide a plurality of inwardly extending channels 61, the base 62 of which is adapted to engage the one edge surface 63 of the T slot end 58 of an interior wall member 56.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A prefabricated panel for use in the construction of a wall and the like comprising (a) a load bearing outer Wall sheet of metallic material,

(b) said outer wall sheet providing throughout its longitudinal length vertically extending inwardly opening channels spaced from each other by a substantially flat wall portion,

(c) an inner wall sheet comprising a plurality of structural members providing vertical ribs which extend from its inner wall surface in the direction of the outer wall,

((1) said ribs providing a substantially flat base portion in contact with a base portion provided by said channels formed in said outer wall sheet,

(e) and lateral end flanges extending in opposite directions in the plane of the substantially flat wall portions provided by said outer wall sheet, and connected in said channels to form a substantially flush inner wall for a rigid self-supporting load bearing panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,689,472 10/1928 Barrows 52588 X 1,840,942 1/1932 Fahrenwald 52588 X 2,923,256 2/1960 Johansson 105-423 3,102,613 8/1963 Johnston 52364 3,185,112 5/1965 Johnston 52376 2,228,650 1/1941 Young et al 52618 X FOREIGN PATENTS 645,852 11/ 1950 Great Britain. 658,809 4/1938 Germany.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, A. C. PERHAM, Examiners. 

1. A PREFABRICATED PANEL FOR USE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A WALL AND THE LIKE COMPRISING (A) A LOAD BEARING OUTER WALL SHEET OF METALLIC MATERIAL, (B) SAID OUTER WALL SHEET PROVIDING THROUGHOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL LENGTH VERTICALLY EXTENDING INWARDLY OPENING CHANNELS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER BY A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT WALL PORTION, (C) AN INNER WALL SHEET COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF STRUCTURAL MEMBERS PROVIDING VERTICAL RIBS WHICH EXTEND FROM ITS INNER WALL SURFACE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OUTER WALL, (D) SAID RIBS PROVIDING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BASE PORTION IN CONTACT WITH A BASE PORTION PROVIDED BY SAID CHANNELS FROM IN SAID OUTER WALL SHEET, (E) AND LATERAL END FLANGES EXTENDING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS IN THE PLANE OF THE SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT WALL PORTIONS PROVIDED BY SAID OUTER WALL SHEET, AND CONNECTED IN SAID CHANNELS TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH INNER WALL FOR A RIGID SELF-SUPPORTING LOAD BEARING PANEL. 